�Abortion with a stick� accused found guilty

Lebogang Mosikare | Thursday February 23, 2017 17:52

The convicts, Pearl David (20) and Boitumelo Basana (31) had pleaded guilty to one count of procuring an abortion.  The incident happened at Phase VI location on November 17, 2016. During their previous appearances, the court had heard stomach-churning details of how Basana helped David to abort using the stick.

Yesterday, David burst into tears on arrival in court from prison where she had been in remand ever since she pleaded guilty to the offence.

She continued crying in the dock when Principal Magistrate Dumisane Basupi gave her the opportunity to mitigate.

 “I am asking the court to have mercy on me when passing sentence. I have learnt a hard lesson.

I have admitted the offence and never gave the police trouble ever since I was charged with this offence,” she said sobbing heavily. However, the matter took a different twist when Basana’s mitigation turned into a denial of part of the evidence laid in the case. “I disown the stick in the photo album that was used by the prosecution as part of evidence. It is not the same stick that I used to help David to abort her child. I however plead for the court’s mercy because I am a first offender.

I will never ever repeat what I did. I have two young children who are physically disabled that I am taking care of,” she said.

After mitigation, a visibly worried Basupi told the accused that the offence they committed was very serious involving the loss of human life. Basupi said if the courts and society were to condone the behaviour of the accused, human beings would gradually become extinct.  “If we were to allow your actions, there would be nobody sitting on my chair doing what I am doing right now in future. I see a lot of aggravating factors in this matter.

You may have taken the life of a future leader. Your actions should be condemned in the most strongest terms possible,” Basupi said, before postponing sentencing.

Hospital authorities reported the backstreet abortion to the police after it went awry. David had already paid a P100 deposit for the abortion. Basana was promised another P100 if the abortion was successful but their mission did not go as planned which led to their arrest.